Hellcat

Chapter 47

We made it back to Matt's apartment barely ten minutes before he did. In that time, I had already sat Stick down in a chair and tied him up. Elektra had stayed on the roof, lost in her thoughts as Matt came in, checking on me briefly before getting some water and a cloth to tend to Stick's wounds.

"We need to lay low. They're gonna come for us," Matt said as he moved out of his kitchen with the water and towel. "Bullshit. They'll come for her. What is this?" Stick asked as he struggled against the knots I had tied him with to keep from escaping. "Constrictor knot," I explained to him as Matt sat in the chair directly facing Stick.

I let out a small huff, resting my hand on his shoulder. He still wore his suit, but his helmet was discarded on the coffee table. His hand came up to rest on mine, giving it a small squeeze. "How sweet," Stick groaned out in disgust. I glared at him even though it had no effect. "Have fun with the crazy old man. I'm going to talk to your crazy ex," I grumbled, about to leave when Matt's hand on mine tightened slightly. I stopped, looking back to see him staring in my direction with concern on his features.

"You think that's a good idea? You two aren't exactly friends," he reminded me gently. "Yeah, I'm sure," I huffed out, giving his hand a squeeze in return. "She needs someone right now. I may not be some mythical prophecy person, but I have an idea of what she's going through," I explained gently. Matt looked reluctant but nodded anyway.

"You really are soft, aren't you?" Stick growled at me. "I prefer human, jackass," I countered before turning to Matt. "Have fun," I huffed before leaning forward and pressing a tender kiss to his forehead. He offered a quick smile to me before I headed up the stairs to the roof.

When I came to the roof, I was greeted with the sight of Elektra standing on the edge. I huffed out a breath, trying to think of what to say. But she spoke before I could. "Leave me alone, Matthew," she called, peering down at the sidewalk below. "If you jump, he's gonna think I pushed you," I called out to her, earning a surprised glance back at me over her shoulder.

"I know what you're feeling, Elektra. Trust me, it passes," I called out as I slowly started towards the ledge she was standing on. "How do you know what I'm feeling?" she asked bitterly. I brushed off her tone easily. "Cause I've been there," I said before hopping up onto the ledge beside her, hooking my thumbs through my thigh harness. "Okay, maybe I haven't been a mythical badass with a cult following," I said with a shrug, hopping to lighten her spirits. I could feel her eyes on me, but chose to look out at the city instead. "But, finding out that the one thing you've been fighting your whole life is actually you? That, I am very familiar with."

She stayed silent, her gaze examining me, looking for lies or malice. "How?" she finally asked. I kept my eyes locked on the city skyline forever silhouetted by its own light pollution. "My dad died in the terrorist attack on 9/11," I started explaining to her. "After that, I wanted nothing more than to fight so that nothing like that would happen again. I wanted to fight the terrorists," I said, pausing to meet her gaze. "And then I found out that I actually was one. That everything I had been told about who I was and what I did was a lie." Tearing my gaze from her, I let myself relive a very dark part of my past.

"I couldn't get out because they would have found everyone I ever cared about and killed them. The only way out was to die." My chest ached at the memory. It was a night like this, three years ago. Instead of staring at the lights of New York City, I had been surrounded by the darkness of the desert, the stars and moon my only light source beyond the building I stood upon. "I thought, maybe it would be better if I just... ended it."

Huffing out a heavy sigh, I shook my head for a moment. "Why didn't you?" her voice surprised me with its softness and genuine curiosity. "I'd like to say it was my mom, but that would be a lie." I turned my gaze to meet hers. "I remembered a perfect day in Central Park, with a boy I had spent every day with since I was six years old."